Carl Justi Association for the Promotion of Art Historical Cooperation between Germany, Spain, Portugal and Ibero-America
90 Years Since the Spanish Civil War
The State of Visual Memory
Symposium organized by the Carl Justi Association in collaboration with the Institute of Art History at the University of Leipzig
Leipzig, Institute of Art History and Capa Haus
October 11-13, 2026
The Spanish Civil War (1936–39) marked the beginning of World War II. The German Luftwaffe played a decisive role in the victory of the Spanish coup plotters that plunged Spain into a dictatorship until Franco’s death in 1975 and whose effects are still felt today. It brings together German and Spanish cultural history and a wide variety of cultures of remembrance - in the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, but also in a comparison between Germany and Spain.
Against this backdrop, the symposium aims to examine the history and contemporary relevance of the Spanish Civil War in art (including Picasso’s ‘Guernica’), photography (including Gerda Taro and Robert Capa), heritage conservation, commemorative architecture (including in cemeteries in Madrid and Paris) and popular visual media (including film). For the interdisciplinary contributions, the organisers were able to secure the participation of both long-standing experts from Germany and Spain and early-career researchers.
A particular link to Leipzig stems from the existence of the Capa House, for which there is a similar initiative in Madrid.
PROGRAMME
SUNDAY, 11 OCTOBER
INSTITUT FÜR KUNSTGESCHICHTE
06:30 pm
WELCOME BY JORIS VAN GASTEL
07:00 pm
EVENING LECTURE BY MICHAEL SCHOLZ-HÄNSEL
Visuelle Erinnerungen schaffen:Von der Fotomontage zur Graphic Novel
Followed by a reception for the active participants
MONDAY, 12 OCTOBER
CAPA–HAUS LEIPZIG
09:30 am
SIMON RAULF
Der Ort und seine Geschichte
»DAS BILD ALS QUELLE:FOTOGRAFIE UND MALEREI«
Chairing: Michael Scholz-Hänsel
10:00 am
CÉLIA CUENCA (Madrid)
Fondos fotográficos de la Guerra Civil Espaňola en las Colecciones del Museo Reina Sofía
10:45 am Break
11:00 am
RICKIE LYNNE GIESEL (Berlin)
Am Zaun der Leichenhalle. Gerda Taros Fotografie des Spanischen Bürgerkrieges zwischen Zeugenschaft, Inszenierung und visueller Erinnerung
11:45 am
MICHAŁ SOBAŃSKI (Paris)
Einsamkeit am Strand. Hilflosigkeit in Picassos »La Baignade« (1937)
12:30 pm Discussion
AFTERNOON OF 12 OCTOBER
INSTITUT FÜR KUNSTGESCHICHTE
»ERINNERUNGSORTE UND IHRE MONUMENTE«
Chairing: Sylvaine Hänsel (Münster)
02:30 pm
KAJA HEZEL
Zwischen Gedenken und Verdrängung: Das Valle de los Caídos als Schauplatz spanischer Erinnerungspolitik
03:15 pm
NINA GORISSEN
Oriol Vilanova
04:00 pm Break
04:15 pm
ELOISE JEROTHE
Gegner und Opfer des spanischen»Faschismus« — plastisches Gedenken in Form zweier Denkmale
05:00 pm
MARIETTA MANN & ANJA HÖFER
Verkannte Helden, gefeierte Märtyrer, umstrittene Opfer: Die Friedhöfe La Almudena und Père Lachaise im
Spannungsfeld der Erinnerungspolitik
07:00 pm
EVENING LECTURE BY MARTIN SCHIEDER
Picasso‘s Guernica — Protest, Exil und Erinnerung
TUESDAY, 13 OCTOBER
INSTITUT FÜR KUNSTGESCHICHTE
»DER SPANISCHE BÜRGERKRIEG UND SEIN MEDIALER RAHMEN«
Chairing: Martin Schieder
09:00 am
RÜDIGER REINECKE (Osnabrück)
Medialität im Spanischen Bürgerkrieg und in der Sozialen Revolution (1936–39)
09:45 am
REINHOLD GÖRLING (Berlin)
»Death in the Making« — Zu Robert Capas Fotografien
10:15 am
THOMAS PÖPPER
Die Arena im Wohnzimmer: Interior Design als Medium umkämpfter Erinnerung
10:45 am Break
11:00 am
KATHARINA HIRRLE (Regensburg)
Spanien als antifaschistischerBeweisraum und Gründungsmythos der DDR. Visuelles Erinnern an den Spanischen Bürgerkrieg im DEFA-Spielfilm (1956–1960)
11:45 am
RALF JUNKERJÜRGEN (Regensburg)
Solange Du lebst. Der Spanische Bürgerkrieg im Kino der frühen Bundesrepublik
12:30 pm Discussion
12:45 pm
TIM ROOD
Die Capa-Häuser in Madrid und Leipzig als Erinnerungorte
01:15 pm
Closing discussion and summary
03:00 - 05:00 pm
GENERAL MEETING OF THE CARL JUSTI ASSOCIATION
INSTITUT FÜR KUNSTGESCHICHTE
See below for the agenda
VENUES
Institut für Kunstgeschichte, Universität Leipzig
Wünschmanns Hof
Dittrichring 18-20
04109 Leipzig
Capa-Haus Leipzig
Jahnallee 61
04177 Leipzig
Contact: scholz-haensel@uni-leipzig.de
FREE ENTRY; NO REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.
We reserve the right to make changes to the programme.
TUESDAY, 13 OCTOBER, 03:00 - 05:00 pm
GENERAL MEETING OF THE CARL JUSTI ASSOCIATION
INSTITUT FÜR KUNSTGESCHICHTE, UNIVERSITY OF LEIPZIG
AGENDA
TOP 1: Adoption of the agenda
TOP 2: Report from the Executive Board
TOP 3: Cash Report
TOP 4: Discharge of the Executive Board
TOP 5: Plans for the 2027 and 2028 colloquia
TOP 6: Ars Iberica et Americana and Mitteilungen der Carl Justi-Vereinigung - Discussion on the possible conversion of the Mitteilungen to a digital format
TOP 7: Homepage / mailing list of the Association
TOP 8: Miscellaneous topics
We look forward to seeing you again in Leipzig and to meeting new members of our association.
Homepage now features bibliography of its members' publications
The Carl Justi Association website is currently being revamped and gradually expanded. Since early 2026, publication lists of its members and, prospectively, also of its international partners on topics related to art history in Spain, Portugal, and Latin America have been collected and systematically published (see the Members' Publications section). The bibliographies are available in three languages: German, Spanish, and English. Further submissions with titles from around 2010 onwards are very welcome, with the request that the citation style be based on the existing system. They will be continuously added to the system.
Please send bibliographic submissions to Professor Dr. Henrik Karge in Dresden: henrik.karge@tu-dresden.de.
